-
International Journal of Laboratory... Aug 2022An indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferation (iT-LBP) is a rare benign disorder characterized by an abnormal expansion of immature T-cells, which morphologically can mimic... (Review)
Review
An indolent T-lymphoblastic proliferation (iT-LBP) is a rare benign disorder characterized by an abnormal expansion of immature T-cells, which morphologically can mimic malignancy. Since the first case was described in 1999, dozens more have been reported in the literature. However, the epidemiologic, clinical, pathologic, and biologic features of this disease have not been well described. Here, we retrospectively reviewed all known cases reported in the literature to better understand this entity. A PubMed search up to January 2022 highlighted 25 papers describing cases/case series of iT-LBP, one of which was a case presentation in a slide workshop. Except for 9 of the cases in one of the papers, where it was evident that the number of CD3+/TdT+ cells were too few to conform with a diagnosis of iT-LBP, all papers and all the cases reported were included in the study amounting to a total of 45 cases. Clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequencies. Our analysis highlighted the previously known association with Castleman disease and Castleman-like features and underlined its association with dendritic cell proliferations in general, as well as uncovering high frequency of concurrence with hepatocellular carcinoma and autoimmune diseases, most notably myasthenia gravis, paraneoplastic pemphigus and paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome. Furthermore, the co-expression of CD4 and CD8 and high prevalence of extranodal disease and recurrences were other less well described features that were revealed.
Topics: Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Lymphoproliferative Disorders; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 35577551
DOI: 10.1111/ijlh.13873 -
Asian Journal of Surgery Jun 2023
Meta-Analysis
Topics: Humans; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Liver Neoplasms; Cytokines; Immunotherapy; Combined Modality Therapy; Dendritic Cells
PubMed: 36599723
DOI: 10.1016/j.asjsur.2022.12.049 -
The European Journal of Neuroscience Aug 2023Environmental factors interact with biological and genetic factors influencing the development and well-being of an organism. The interest in better understanding the...
Τhe neuroprotective role of environmental enrichment against behavioral, morphological, neuroendocrine and molecular changes following chronic unpredictable mild stress: A systematic review.
Environmental factors interact with biological and genetic factors influencing the development and well-being of an organism. The interest in better understanding the role of environment on behavior and physiology led to the development of animal models of environmental manipulations. Environmental enrichment (EE), an environmental condition that allows cognitive and sensory stimulation as well as social interaction, improves cognitive function, reduces anxiety and depressive-like behavior and promotes neuroplasticity. In addition, it exerts protection against neurodegenerative disorders, cognitive aging and deficits aggravated by stressful experiences. Given the beneficial effects of EE on the brain and behavior, preclinical studies have focused on its protective role as an alternative, non-invasive manipulation, to help an organism to cope better with stress. A valid, reliable and effective animal model of chronic stress that enhances anxiety and depression-like behavior is the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). The variety of stressors and the unpredictability in the time and sequence of exposure to prevent habituation, render CUMS an ethologically relevant model. CUMS has been associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, elevation in the basal levels of stress hormones, reduction in brain volume, dendritic atrophy and alterations in markers of synaptic plasticity. Although numerous studies have underlined the compensatory role of EE against the negative effects of various chronic stress regimens (e.g. restraint and social isolation), research concerning the interaction between EE and CUMS is sparse. The purpose of the current systematic review is to present up-to-date research findings regarding the protective role of EE against the negative effects of CUMS.
Topics: Animals; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Depression; Anxiety; Anxiety Disorders; Stress, Psychological; Disease Models, Animal; Hippocampus
PubMed: 37461295
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16089 -
International Journal of Molecular... Nov 2016The scientific community still faces the challenge of developing strategies to cure HIV-1. One of these pursued strategies is the development of immunotherapeutic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
The scientific community still faces the challenge of developing strategies to cure HIV-1. One of these pursued strategies is the development of immunotherapeutic vaccines based on dendritic cells (DCs), pulsed with the virus, that aim to boost HIV-1 specific immune response. We aimed to review DCs-based therapeutic vaccines reports and critically assess evidence to gain insights for the improvement of these strategies. We performed a systematic review, followed by meta-analysis and meta-regression, of clinical trial reports. Twelve studies were selected for meta-analysis. The experimental vaccines had low efficiency, with an overall success rate around 38% (95% confidence interval = 26.7%-51.3%). Protocols differed according to antigen choice, DC culture method, and doses, although multivariate analysis did not show an influence of any of them on overall success rate. The DC-based vaccines elicited at least some immunogenicity, that was sometimes associated with plasmatic viral load transient control. The protocols included both naïve and antiretroviral therapy (ART)-experienced individuals, and used different criteria for assessing vaccine efficacy. Although the vaccines did not work as expected, they are proof of concept that immune responses can be boosted against HIV-1. Protocol standardization and use of auxiliary approaches, such as latent HIV-1 reservoir activation and patient genomics are paramount for fine-tuning future HIV-1 cure strategies.
Topics: AIDS Vaccines; Clinical Trials as Topic; Dendritic Cells; HIV Infections; Humans; Immunotherapy
PubMed: 27898045
DOI: 10.3390/ijms17121985 -
Prostate International Dec 2018Dendritic cells (DCs) are used in many malignancies as vaccines to induce immunity against specific cancer antigens. The role of DCs in metastatic castration-resistant... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Dendritic cells (DCs) are used in many malignancies as vaccines to induce immunity against specific cancer antigens. The role of DCs in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is not determined. In this study, the proportion of mCRPC patients with clinically significant response to targeted therapy by DCs pulsed with prostate-specific membrane antigen was evaluated, and the possible adverse effects of this modality were investigated.
METHODS
Major databases were searched up to Feb 2017, to identify studies in which the antitumor efficacy of DCs pulsed with the extracellular portion of PSMA was studied for the treatment of mCRPC. Data were collected by two reviewers and analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software, version 2.0.
FINDINGS
Our study consisted of 6 nonrandomized prospective (cohort) trials, overall reporting on 153 mCRPC patients. The event rate that is the representative of fraction of patients showing antitumor response was 0.43 (95% confidence interval = 0.355-0.512; = 0.097). No significant between-study heterogeneity or inconsistency was detected (I = 5.47; Q = 5; = 0.382). Our study failed to demonstrate a significant therapeutic efficacy for DCs in mCRPC. However, no significant adverse effects were seen.
PubMed: 30505813
DOI: 10.1016/j.prnil.2018.04.001 -
Cureus Sep 2022Asthma is a non-communicable and long-term condition affecting children and adults. The air passages in the lungs become narrow due to inflammation and tightening of the... (Review)
Review
Asthma is a non-communicable and long-term condition affecting children and adults. The air passages in the lungs become narrow due to inflammation and tightening of the muscles around the small airways. Symptoms of asthma are intermittent and include cough, wheeze, shortness of breath, and chest tightness. Asthma is very often underdiagnosed and under-treated in many regions, especially in developing countries. While many studies show that viral infections can precipitate asthmatic attacks, very few studies have been conducted to see if history or current asthmatic attack increases the risk of viral infections. Our study aims to determine the predisposition of asthmatics to develop various viral infections and susceptibility toward certain viruses that cause upper respiratory tract infections. We performed a literature review of both published and unpublished articles. We included case reports, case series, reviews, clinical trials, cohort, and case-control studies, written only in English. Commentaries, letters to editors, and book chapters were excluded. Our initial search yielded 948 articles, of which 826 were rejected either because they were irrelevant or because they did not meet our inclusion criteria. We finally screened 122 abstracts and identified 24 relevant articles. People with a history of asthma have an abnormal innate immune response, making them potentially slower in clearing the infection and susceptible to both infections and virus-induced cell cytotoxicity. Also, in these studies, deficiencies in the interferon alpha response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells have been observed in asthmatics, both adults and children. Asthmatics with a viral infection usually present with an acute exacerbation of asthma, represented by dyspnea and cough, with other prodromal symptoms including vomiting and general malaise. The review includes an update on the relevance of dysregulated immune pathways in causing viral infections in asthmatic populations. It focuses on the evidence to suggest that people with asthma are at increased risk of viral infection, and viral infections in turn are known to precipitate and worsen the asthmatic status, making this a vicious cycle. The authors also suggest that further studies be undertaken to elucidate the pathophysiology and identify the critical therapeutic steps to break this vicious cycle and improve the quality of life for people with asthma.
PubMed: 36225449
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.28839 -
Journal of Cellular and Molecular... Jul 2018Septins are a conserved family of cytoskeletal GTPases present in different organisms, including yeast, drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans and humans. In humans, septins...
Septins are a conserved family of cytoskeletal GTPases present in different organisms, including yeast, drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans and humans. In humans, septins are involved in various cellular processes, including exocytosis, apoptosis, leukemogenesis, carcinogenesis and neurodegeneration. Septin 7 is unique out of 13 human septins. Mammalian septin 6, septin 7, septin 2 and septin 9 coisolate together in complexes to form the core unit for the generation of the septin filaments. Physiological septin filaments are hetero-oligomeric complexes consisting of core septin hexamers and octamers. Furthermore, septin 7 plays a crucial role in cytokinesis and mitosis. Septin 7 is localized to the filopodia and branches of developing hippocampal neurons, and is the most abundant septin in the adult rat forebrain as well as a structural component of the human and mouse sperm annuli. Septin 7 is crucial to the spine morphogenesis and dendrite growth in neurons, and is also a structural constituent of the annulus in human and mouse sperm. It can suppress growth of some tumours such as glioma and papillary thyroid carcinoma. However, the molecular mechanisms of involvement of septin 7 in human disease, especially in the development of cancer, remain unclear. This review focuses on the structure, function and mechanism of septin 7 in vivo, and summarizes the role of septin 7 in cell proliferation, cytokinesis, nervous and reproductive systems, as well as the underlying molecular events linking septin 7 to various diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, tumour and so on.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Calcium; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Lupus Vasculitis, Central Nervous System; Nervous System; Schizophrenia; Septins
PubMed: 29602250
DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.13623 -
Therapeutic Advances in Urology Feb 2017Renal cell cancer (RCC) is the tenth most common malignancy in adults. In recent years, several approaches of active and passive immunotherapy have been studied... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Renal cell cancer (RCC) is the tenth most common malignancy in adults. In recent years, several approaches of active and passive immunotherapy have been studied extensively in clinical trials of patients with RCC. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the clinical efficacy of various approaches of specific immunotherapy in patients with RCC.
METHODS
We searched Medline, Scopus, CENTRAL, TRIP, DART, OpenGrey and ProQuest without any language filter through to 9 October 2015. One author reviewed search results for irrelevant and duplicate studies and two other authors independently extracted data from the studies. We collated study findings and calculated a weighted treatment effect across studies using Review Manager (version 5.3. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, the Cochrane Collaboration).
RESULTS
We identified 14 controlled studies with 4013 RCC patients after excluding irrelevant and duplicate studies from 11,319 references retrieved from a literature search. Overall, five autologous tumor cell vaccines, one peptide-based vaccine, one virus-based vaccine and one dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine were studied in nine controlled studies of active specific immunotherapies. A total of three passive immunotherapies including autologous cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells, auto lymphocyte therapy (ALT) and autologous lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells were studied in four controlled studies. The clinical efficacy of tumor lysate-pulsed DCs, with CIK cells was studied in one controlled trial concurrently. The overall quality of studies was fair. Meta-analysis of seven studies showed that patients undergoing specific immunotherapy had significantly higher overall survival (OS) than those in the control group [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.72; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.58-0.89, = 0.003]. In addition, a meta-analysis of four studies showed that there was a significant difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between patients undergoing specific immunotherapy and patients in control groups (HR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.73-1, = 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Results of this systematic review suggest that some specific immunotherapies such as Reniale, ACHN-IL-2, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) virus-infected autologous tumor cells, ALT and CIK treatment could be beneficiary for the treatment of patients with RCC.
PubMed: 28203287
DOI: 10.1177/1756287216681246 -
British Journal of Cancer Apr 2019Various immune cells have been suggested as prognostic markers for cancer patients. In this article, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Various immune cells have been suggested as prognostic markers for cancer patients. In this article, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies assessing the prognostic value of tissue-infiltrating immune cells in oral cancer and discuss the reporting quality of these studies.
METHODS
We performed a systematic literature search and included studies using immunohistochemistry and survival analysis to assess the prognostic value of tumour-infiltrating T cells, B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells and natural killer cells in oral cancer. We performed meta-analysis of studies providing necessary statistical data and investigated the studies' adherence to the REporting recommendations for tumour MARKer prognostic studies (REMARK) guidelines.
RESULTS
Of the 1960 articles identified, 33 were eligible for this systematic review and 8 were included in the meta-analysis. CD163+ M2 macrophages and CD57+ natural killer cells were the most promising predictors of survival in oral cancer patients. Many studies lacked important information on their design and conduct.
CONCLUSION
Deficiencies in the reporting of study design and conduct make it difficult to draw reliable conclusions about the suggested markers. The prognostic value of CD163+ M2 macrophages and CD57+ natural killer cells should be validated in large, standardised studies.
Topics: B-Lymphocytes; Dendritic Cells; Humans; Killer Cells, Natural; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating; Macrophages; Mast Cells; Mouth Neoplasms; Prognosis; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; T-Lymphocytes
PubMed: 30808992
DOI: 10.1038/s41416-019-0409-6 -
The Journal of Laryngology and Otology Jul 2012In the management of sensorineural hearing loss, effective therapy for degenerated hair cells, third order neurons, ganglions, dendrites and synaptic areas of the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
In the management of sensorineural hearing loss, effective therapy for degenerated hair cells, third order neurons, ganglions, dendrites and synaptic areas of the vestibulo-cochleo-cerebral pathway remains an enigma. Transplantation of stem and progenitor cells appears to be an emerging potential solution, and is the focus of this review.
AIM
To review recent developments in the management of sensorineural hearing loss in the field of stem cell research.
MATERIALS AND METHOD
A systematic review of the English language literature included all experimental and non-experimental studies with a Jadad score of three or more, published between 2000 and 2010 and included in the following databases: Cochrane Library Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders; Medline; Google Scholar; Hinari; and the Online Library of Toronto University.
RESULTS
Of the 455 and 29 600 articles identified from Medline and Google Scholar, respectively, 48 met the inclusion criteria. These were independently reviewed and jointly analysed.
CONCLUSION
Although there is not yet any evidence from successful human studies, stem cell and 'alternative stem cell' technology seems to represent the future of sensorineural hearing loss management.
Topics: Animals; Databases, Bibliographic; Embryonic Stem Cells; Hair Cells, Auditory; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Humans; Mice; Otolaryngology; Pluripotent Stem Cells; Stem Cell Research; Stem Cell Transplantation
PubMed: 22624825
DOI: 10.1017/S0022215112000850